A native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he was previously a breaking news and multimedia reporter for the Ogden, Utah, Standard-Examiner. The 11-year-old was taken while she walked back from school in California, with witnesses reporting Linda talking to a white male in a van. An man arrested for a series of cold case sex crimes against children died while in police custody, officials said. A native of Chicago, Neal began getting into trouble soon after he moved with his family to Anaheim in 1956. James Neal was arrested in February 2019 and charged with raping and killing Linda Ann OKeefe. Generations of investigators worked on her case, said Lewis. The 72-year-old Neal was extradited to California from Colorado after he was charged with murder in the death of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe in the seaside community of Newport Beach. These were in relation to him committing lewd acts to a child in Riverside County, California, between July 1995 and July 2000 and then to another child between March 2002 and March 2004. Colorado man charged in 1973 Orange County cold case dies awaiting trial. Spitzer noted that the DNA lead police had obtained was wholly unrelated to the department's live-tweeting of O'Keefe's last day but said the exercise had served to revive the case in the public's mind. James Alan Neal fue arrestado el 19 de febrero de 2019, en relacin con su muerte, segn anunciaron los fiscales en una conferencia de prensa. Scott was part of the OC Registers investigative team that in 2017 produced the year-long, award winning Rehab Riviera series, examining problems in Southern Californias drug rehabilitation industry. The DNA researcher Moore has been on the forefront of linking cold cases to suspects through genetic material voluntarily offered by Americans doing ancestry research. He worked odd jobs as a cook, factory worker, a floral delivery person, etc., but could never consistently hold down a job. Based on a witness statement, it was believed a man in a van kidnapped Linda. Through surveillance, a sample of Neal's DNA was obtained - one that ultimately matched a sample taken from O'Keefe's body in 1973. Suspect in 1973 Newport Beach child murder dies in custody "He lived here in the 1970s," Spitzer said. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? It was not clear from records if he was convicted for those offenses. Photo Source. Nothing he said made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Colorado Man Pleads Not Guilty In California Cold Case Death "Just before midnight, 'a lady in the bluffs above Back Bay hears a female voice outside, screaming "Stop, you're hurting me," ' the police tweeted in O'Keefe's name. But O'Keefe never came home. Linda O'Keefe Murder Defendant James Alan Neal Is Dead | Law & Crime She had been strangled. pic.twitter.com/47pA4FhBmG, Newport Beach Police (@NewportBeachPD) July 5, 2018, Im wearing a dress today Its white, with light blue flowers on it, and dark blue trim. They dont understand me or why I am the way I am. She was later found strangled to death and dumped in a ditch in Newport Beachs Back Bay. Newport Beach police released this undated image of Linda O'Keefe in an effort to get assistance from the public to help solve her murder in Southern California in July 1973. Photo Source. Linda O'Keefe, 11, vanished in July 1973 when she was heading home from school in Newport Beach. The genealogical hit came in January, officials said. Neal is being held in the El Paso County Jail in Colorado. Neal was taken to a hospital on May 25 for an illness. "But it created an awareness . Her body was found the next morning in a ditch in the area of Newport Beachs Back Bay. ABC News' Kayna Whitworth contributed to this report. Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. This photo shows a poster of James Neal during a news conference at the Orange County District Attorney's office in Santa Ana, Calif., Feb. 20, 2019. James Alan Neal was known as James Albert Layton Jr. when he was born in 1946. 48 Hours: Lindas Story delves into the work put in to arrest James Neal in relation to Lindas rape and murder. Man Accused of Killing 11-Year-Old Linda O'Keefe in Newport Beach Dies She had been strangled and sexually assaulted. Through genealogical DNA, though, investigators corroborated the DNA from O'Keefe's body and the DNA obtained from the suspect, according to Spitzer. After Lindas death, Neal moved to Florida, where he changed his name to James Alan George Leyton, Spitzer said. At the least, prosecutors will ask for life without the possibility of parole if Neal is convicted, the district attorney said. For nearly 45 years, the murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe haunted the Newport Beach Police Department in California. James Alan Neal, 73, died on Wednesday at a hospital where he had been transferred in May to be treated for an illness, according to the Orange County Sheriffs Office. In July 2018, her story touched millions of people through #LindasStory (https://t.co/yxv1fLFIZp). Newport Beach police said last year they were taking a fresh look at the slaying of Linda O'Keefe, who lived in the Corona del Mar neighborhood and was last seen alive July 6, 1973, as she walked home from summer school. Man who served 15 years for murder his brother confessed to awarded $7,500,000, Woman 'sold 20 boxes of fetuses, hearts, genitalia and brains on Facebook', One killed after plane crashes into Los Angeles neighborhood. Then her mother made that call that every parent dreads and told police her daughter was missing, he said. "Linda's face and her memory has been with us since the day this happened," he said. Shortly after Lindas murder, investigators recovered DNA evidence from her remains, Spitzer said. On July 6, 1973, 11-year-old Linda OKeefe disappeared while walking home from summer school in the southern California beachside town of Corona del Mar. He was rushed to a local hospital about a month before that. Records reveal Neal was arrested on Sept. 9, 1973, in Marion County, Florida, on a fraud charge for writing a bad check and unauthorized use of a vehicle. Using details from the investigator's decades-old case files, police relayed O'Keefe's last hours, as well as her family's frantic search for her, as if they were unfolding in real time, as The Washington Post's Meagan Flynn reported: "At 6:42 p.m., six hours since her mother had last heard from her, O'Keefe's parents reported her missing to the Newport Beach Police Department, convinced by then O'Keefe was not simply running off with friends to retaliate for not getting a ride. 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Suspect in Linda O'Keefe cold-case homicide described as habitual As for her sister's suspected killer, Borgeson said, "because of my profound faith, I've been able to forgive the individual. After a move to California in 1956, James started getting into trouble. "It is bittersweet to hear that, yes, this case has been resolved. Anyone who may have any information on this unsolved crime is asked to call the Newport Beach Police Cold Case Tip Line at 949-644-3669. Colorado Man Arrested in 1973 Killing of 11-Year-Old Girl Featured in "My office will never forget about cold cases," Spitzer said in a statement. An undated photo of Linda OKeefe who was killed in Southern California in July 1973. SANTA ANA, CA Officials in California say James Alan Neal, who was arrested last year in Monument for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, has died. James Neal, 72, who lived in Southern California and worked in construction in the 1970s, was arrested this week in Colorado, where he had been living, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a Wednesday news conference. Parabon has worked on the majority of the cold cases cracked through genetic genealogy, including O'Keefe's case. Linda O'Keefe murder: Police Twitter campaign helps lay a trap for the Last year, 45 years after O'Keefe's body was found, police released these sketches of her suspected killer. Armed with DNA and a family tree, police arrested a Colorado man in connection to the 1973 slaying of a Southern California girl, authorities said Wednesday. "Her picture hangs in our detective division, where our folks see it every day as a reminder of her and why we continue to pursue these cases.". . Beware of scams, Denver police searching for missing 14-year-old. All Rights Reserved. / CBS Colorado. Detectives from Newport Beach arrested Neal at 6:29 a.m. in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said at the press conference. Newport Beach police in July released a sketch of a man, the possible suspect, based on DNA collected at the scene. Investigators identified Neal as a suspect using genealogical DNA. ", Borgeson said, if she gets a chance to speak to Neal, she would "let him know that I've been praying for him.". Copyright 2020 KKTV. As a result of surveillance and other traditional detective techniques, they were able to get additional DNA which resulted in the corroboration of the DNA from the victims body, to the DNA sample that the suspect left during a particular location during surveillance activities, the Orange County district attorney said after Neals arrest in February 2019. The database was Family Tree DNA. That I'll be found a couple hundred yards from her home. Police and prosecutors in Southern California thanked the FBI, the Colorado Springs Police Department and the El Paso County Sheriffs Department in Colorado for their assistance. Records show that from 1963 to 1966, Neal was employed as cook, furniture mover, iron worker, factory worker, and a floral deliveryman but didnt hold a job longer than five months. O'Keefe vanished in July of 1973 while walking home from summer school. ABC News' Jenna Harrison contributed to this report. "We want as many sets of eyes on that sketch as possible, so somebody can recognize the face of a killer so we can get justice.". James Alan Neal, 73, was transferred to a local hospital May 25 for treatment of an illness and died there at about 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to Orange County sheriff's officials. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Neal currently lives in Colorado, but investigators were able to confirm that he lived in California in the 1970s, when Linda was murdered, Spitzer said. 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James Alan Neal, 72, was picked up in Colorado Springs on Tuesday and charged with the murder of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, Newport Beach police and Orange County prosecutors said. The next day, a man visiting that area found O'Keefe's strangled body, police said.
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